Method and apparatus for conditioning fibrous material



Jan. 21, 1941. Q HILL ETAL 2,229,566

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING FIBRoUs MATERIAL 2- Sheets-Sheet lFiled May 14, 1958 Nagar-U ATTORNEY G. HILL Erm. 2,229,566

MTHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING FIBROUS MATERIAL Jan. 21, 1941.

2 sheets-Sheet 2 Filed` May 14, 1938 E WW,

GRID 'BARS not 20F-.02 10km Patented Jan. 21, 1941 N UNITED sTATEsPATENT I oFFlcE George Hill and Arthur G. Bill, Wellford, S. C., andEdward A. Harper, Atlanta, Ga., assignors to The Texas Company, NewYork, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application May 14, 193s, serialNe. 207,872

4 claims. (c1. isi-66) This invention relates to a method and anapparatus for treating raw cotton and other fibrous materials such, forexample, as wool, rayon, jute,

` hemp and the like, prior to the carding of such 5 bers.

materials. During certain stages in the processingof fibrous materialssuch as raw cotton it is frequently desirable, if not actuallynecessary, to treat the fibers with a conditioning fluid in order tofacilitate the working of the stock in 10 the carding and subsequentspinning operations.

20 ditioning uid.

'I'he objects, to state only a few, of treating the fibers with oil areto render them supple, to prevent undue loss of fibers, and to prevent,or at least to minimize, the accumulation of static 5 electricity duringthe carding, drawing and spinning operations. Heretofore various methodsand types of apparatus have been employed for conditioning fibrousmaterials, and as illustrative of these methods and various types ofapparatus o reference is here made to United States Patent No.1,973,761, granted to George Hill on September 18, 1934. According tothe aforesaid Hill invention, the individual fibers are separated fromtheir customary mass-like form as they enter a beater chamber and aresprayed with ilnely atomized oil at the point of separation in order towet the individual fibers.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an apparatuscapable of applying the oil to the fibers as they are separated fromtheir lap-like form in a beater chamber to insure distribution of oilunder completely controlled conditions, but without the necessity foratomizing the oil as is the case in the aforementioned Hill 45invention. In other words, the practice of the present invention obtainsdistribution of the oil by intimate contact with the fibers underconditions of wiping, speed and pressure and eliminates the need forcompressed air to atomize the 50 oil, this being a distinct advantage inmost mills.

According to the present invention, the oil is supplied by gravity froma tank in which the oil is maintained at a constant level to the pointof application to the bers.

Another object of the invention is to provide what will be termed, forwant of a better name, an applicator of a length substantially the sameas the width of the ber lap and to which oil is supplied in regulatedquantities to maintain it in a wet condition. The fibers which areseparated from the advancing forward end of the lap by the action of therotating beater in the beater chamber are wiped against the face of theapplicator as they are carried around by the beater to transfer the oilfrom the applicator to the bers by intimate contact.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the'inventionwill more fully appear from the following description when considered inconnection with the drawings, wherein Fig. l is a view in sideelevation, partly in section, throughy a beater section of a picker ofconventional form showing a typical installation of an applicator of thetype embodied in the invention herein to be described, in the beaterchamber of the picker,

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view taken o n the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 andshows the applicator in position in the grid section of the beaterchamben' Fig. 3 is a front view, considerably enlarged, of theapplicator shown in Fig. 1, i

Fig. 4 is an enlarged bottom view, partially in section, of theapplicator,

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the eed bar taken on the line 5-5 of Fig.3, Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a cutoff valve forcontrolling the flow of oil in timed relation with the operation of thepicker, and

Fig. 7 is a view in cross section of a sight feed needle valve forVernier regulation of the supply of oil to the applicator.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated an apparatus which isparticularly adapted for treating fibrous material such as cotton, wool,jute, hemp and the like, with oil in order to facilitate the working ofthe stock. The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 includes a picker indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral I0. The picker, which is ofconventional design, includes a beater chamber I2 wherein cotton orother fibrous material, which is introduced into the chamber I2 inlap-like form through feed rolls I4, I4, is' acted upon by a revolvingbeater I6. A grid section provided with a plurality of grid bars I8 ispositioned in the lower portion of the beater chamber. Dust and motesseparated from the cotton or other fibrous material by the ac-A tion ofthe beater I6 pass from the chamber I2 `through the grid bars I 8- andare subsequently removed. f

@tot

Oil is applied to the cotton substantially at the point of its entryinto the beater chamber I 2 and in the apparatus illustrated anelongated ap-- plicator 20 is shown in position beneath the bottom feedroll I4 and placed well forward so that a it lies along the arc formedby the grid section.

The top grid bar I8 is preferably removed from the usual assembly toprovide sumcient space for convenient insertion of the applicator 2t,which then takes the place of and serves the same purpose as did the barwhich has been removed. It is .maintained in the desired position by anysuitable securing means, such, for example, as brackets 22, 22, fastenedto the sides of the beater chamber i2. Theoil may, of course, be appliedat any other'convenient or desired point within the beater chamber ofthe picker or cleaning machine mechanism as, for example, in the placeof the lowermost grid bar I8 instead of upper grid bar, as shown.

'I'he applicator 2G is substantially square in cross section and isprovided with a relatively deep slot 24 which extends throughout agreater portion of its length. An oil duct 26 extends from the slot-l 24through the rear wall of the applicator 2li and is connected by means ofan oil supply line 28 to a sight feed needle valve 30 by means of whichminute regulation of the flow of oil to the applicator is maintained.

Oil is supplied to the sight feed needle valve 3|) from a main source ofsupply which may consist of interchangeable oil drums 32. A pipe 3dextends from the drum 32 to and through a constant level tank 36 wherethe hydrostatic head is maintained at a predetermined level. From v thetank 36 the oil passes by gravity through a pipe 38 having a cut-offvalve 40 to the sight feed valve 30. This pipe 38 may also include astrainer 42 for removing foreign matter from the oil. Oil is permittedto flow to the applicator only when the feed mechanism of the picker isin operation, the cut-off valve 40 being operated 1n conjunction withthe feed mechanism through a knock-olf arm 44 which is aiiixed to somemoving part of the feed mechanism and actuates the valve push rod 46 toopen the valve in response to the movement of the feed mechanism, itbeing closed by the expansion of a spring 48 contained within the valvebody when the pressure is released on the push rod 46.

`Oil is applied to the fibers in the beater chamber substantially at thepoint of their entry into the beater chamber I2 and as the individualfibers are separated from `the advancing forward end of the lap by theaction of the beater I6. The rotating beater acts upon the fibers acrossthe entire width of the lap as it is delivered into the beater chamberI2 by the feed rolls I4 and causes them to pass in wiping engagementagainst the oil wetted applicator. To apply the oil evenly a porousmaterial such as fabricated metal or felt 50 is secured to theapplicator 2o to cover the exposed portion of the slot 24 as shown inFigs. 3, 4 land 5. The porous material 5U is held in position by aretaining plate 52 which, in turn, is held in position by means ofscrews 54 which pass therethrough and through the porous material andare anchored in the b OdY portion of the applicator. The forward edge ofthe retaining plate 52 extends slightly beyond the front face of [theapplicator and forms a lip 56 which is maintainedtin a wetted conditionwith oil which seeps from the slot 24 through 'the porous material 5Gand is diffused across the lip 56 of the retaining plate 52,

azaasce From the foregoing it will be seen that in the type ofconstruction shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the porous material 50 coveringthe slot 24 acts as a distributing medium for the oil which is suppliedto the applicator through the duct 26. The exposed portion of porousmaterial opposite the lip 56 is sealed, preferably with solder as at 58in Fig. 5, to prevent seepage of oil in that direction. It is apparentthat the applicator is so adjusted with respect to the beater I6 that asthe latter separates the individual bers from the forward end of the lapas it emerges from between the feed rolls I4 they are caused to pass in-a direction perpendicular to the axis of the applicator and in wipingengagement with the oilwetted surface of the applicator 20 from whichthe oil is transferred to the fibers.

While the present invention has been described above as appliedparticularly to a down-stroke beater of a picker, it is equallyapplicable to a picker with an up-stroke beater. It may also be appliedto the lickerin of a carding machine or to the doffer of a cardingmachine. The principle of operation embodied in the two last mentionedapplications is identical with that oi an application in the beaterchamber of a picker in that in both instances the bers are wiped acrossthe feed face of the feed bar and oil from the feed bar is therebytransferred to the fibers.

Obviously, many modications and variations of the invention as hereindescribed may be made without departing from the spirit and scopethereof, and therefore only such limitations should be imposed as areindicated in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. 'Iiie combination with a beater chamber having feed rolls and arevolving beater for acting upon the brous material passing into thechamber between the feed rolls, of a slotted applicator inserted in .thegrid section of said chamber in place of one of the plurality ofy gridbars ordinarily employed, means for supplying oil in regulatedquantities to the slot in said applicator, and porous means coveringsaid slot |but permitting seepage of oil therefrom to maintain one faceof the applicator wet with oil from which face oil is transferred to thefibers as they are caused by the beater to pass in wiping ensagementltherewith.

2. 'I'he combination with a beater chamber having feedrolls and arevolving beater for acting upon fibrous material passing into thechamber between the feed rolls, of an applicator disposed below thebottom feed roll and comprising an elongated member slotted throughoutthe greater portion of its length and formed with a duct .through whichoil enters to ll said slot,

`porous material covering the exposed portion of the slot, and a platesecured to the applicator for retaining said porous material inposition. the forward edge of said plate extending beyond the front faceof the applicator to form a lip over which oil seeping through theporous material is diffused, and means for continuously supplying oil tothe duct in said applicator so that the porous material in theapplicator is constantly maintained wet with oil for transfer to thefibers as they are caused by thel revolving beater to pass in wipingengagement therewith.

3. In apparatus for treating textile fibers, a beater chamber having agrid section and an opening through which bers enter the beater vchamber in lap-like form, a rotatable beater having blades of a lengthsubstantially the same as the width of the beater chamber mounted insaid chamber and adapted to act upon the en tire width of the advancingforward end of the lap to separate individual fibers from the laplikemass, an applicator interposed in the grid section of the beater chamberhaving one face adapted to be maintained moist with a. conditioningfluid and being of a length substantially .the same as the width of theber lap, and means for rotating said beater to pass the separated bersagainst said moistened face of the applicator in a directionperpendicular to the axis of the applicator for transferringconditioning fluid from the applicator .to the separated fibers.

4. In apparatus for treating textile bers, a beater chamber having agrid section and an opening through which fibers enter the beaterchamberin lap-like form, a rotatable beater hav ing blades of a lengthsubstantially the same as the width of the beater chamber mounted insaid. chamber and adapted. to act upon the entire width of the advancingforward end of the lap to separate individual ibers from the lap-likemass, an applicator interposed in the grid section of the beater chamberhaving one face adapted to be maintained `moist with a condi-I tioning-uid and being of a length substantially' the same as the Width of theber lap, means for rotating said beater to pass the separated fibers 10against said moistened face of the applicator in a directionperpendicular to the axis of the applicator for transferringconditioning fluid from the applicator to the separated ibers, and meansfor constantly maintaining the face of the applicator 15 moist with theconditioning fluid.

GEORGE HILL. ARTHUR G. HILL. EDWARD A. HARPER.

